Understanding Cosmetic Laser Surgery - part 6 docx

5. What Is It Like to
Be Treated with a
Nonsurgical Laser?
A patient about to undergo laser treatment might wonder what
the experience will be like. Will it hurt? Is it dangerous? Will there
be any anesthesia injections? How long does it take to heal?
As might be expected, there is a significant difference between
nonsurgical and surgical laser treatments. For the most part, nonsur-
gical laser treatments have a more limited effect on the skin because
the laser energy is absorbed by a targeted skin component. Only the
unwanted skin components, such as blood vessels, pigmented cells or
hair follicles, are damaged. With nonsurgical laser treatments pain is
mild; usually no anesthesia is required. In contrast, surgical laser
treatments are nonspecific and affect all skin components equally.
In laser resurfacing, entire layers of skin are removed and significant
healing must take place because new skin must grow to replace the
removed skin. Incisional laser surgery requires stitches to close the
wound.
Removing Vascular Skin Lesions
In younger patients, port wine stains are usually composed of
superficial capillaries, whereas in adults they may also include larger,
darker blood vessels. Lesions that are composed primarily of capil-
laries respond best to pulsed dye laser treatment; those with larger
vessels may also require treatment with a continuous-wave laser,
such as the krypton, argon, or normal mode Nd:YAG lasers.
Pulsed dye laser therapy is moderately painful. The painful
sensation is felt briefly during each laser pulse. In older children or
adults, anesthesia is usually not required. Younger children or
infants generally will not tolerate this level of pain and thus cannot
cooperate during treatment. Therefore, pulsed dye laser treatment
may require sedation or even general anesthesia in this age group.

Pulsed dye laser treatment of vascular lesions generally results in
purpura, an immediate bruise-like discoloration that occurs due to a
shock wave effect. (Newer pulsed dye lasers with slightly longer pulse
durations are less likely to cause purpura.) The high-energy, brief
laser pulse is highly absorbed by hemoglobin within red blood cells
and is converted to heat. This heat absorption causes rapid expan-
sion and results in microscopic explosions within the capillaries,
physically disrupting the walls of the small blood vessels so that red
blood cell contents (primarily hemoglobin) leak out of the vessels
into the surrounding dermis. The bruise-like purpura will fade as
macrophages remove this debris, but may require up to two weeks
to completely disappear. In addition to purpura, the microscopic
injury to blood vessels may cause inflammation that results in mild
swelling of the treated skin.
Unlike port wine stains, hemangiomas are raised, fleshy growths
composed mostly of larger, dilated blood vessels. Some port wine
stains are actually mixed lesions that include small hemangiomas
within the larger flat port wine stain. Hemangiomas generally show
only a partial response to treatment with the pulsed dye laser; the
blood vessels within a hemangioma are too large to be destroyed by
the shock wave effect of the pulsed dye laser. All of the energy in the
laser pulse is absorbed by hemoglobin within the red blood cells
adjacent to the proximal vessel wall. Although there may be disrup-
tion to part of the vessel wall, the vessel wall will heal and the vessel
will survive.
A method more effective in destroying the larger vessels of a
hemangioma is a continuous-wave laser such as the argon or kryp-
ton laser. These lasers produce energy at wavelengths that are well
absorbed by hemoglobin and can be operated in a truly continuous
mode or mechanically switched to provide pulses as short as five-

hundredths of a second. These longer pulses generate sufficient heat
within the vessels to cause coagulation of the blood. A coagulated
44 / What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser?
vessel dies and will disappear as macrophages remove the resultant
debris.
Treatment of small (one-eighth inch or less) hemangiomas with
krypton or argon lasers is relatively painless and requires no anesthesia.
Very small lesions will shrink and disappear immediately, healing
with no visible scar. Larger lesions may turn gray and heal by forming
a scab. A scab forms because the epidermis overlying the heman-
gioma is destroyed and the blood within the hemangioma, now
coagulated, is on the surface. (A scab is dried, coagulated blood on
the surface of the skin.)
Larger hemangiomas are more difficult and painful to treat.
These lesions may require an injected anesthetic before treatment.
The laser energy may need to be administered through repeated
pulses or even continuous, non-pulsed treatment. Large lesions,
because of their size, absorb a large amount of laser energy and are
heated to a relatively high temperature. If enough heat is conducted
to adjacent skin, there will be a localized burn, possibly resulting in
a wound that heals with a visible scar. Because continuous-wave
lasers such as krypton and argon produce coagulation within
targeted blood vessels, there is no purpura. In the days following
treatment, there may be superficial crusting or scabbing to which a
topical antibiotic such as bacitracin or Polysporin should be applied
once or twice a day.
A telangiectasia is a visibly dilated, linear blood vessel. Telangiec-
tases, which may be associated with a diffuse redness or blush due
to accompanying microscopic capillaries, occur primarily on the
face and may be associated with a skin disease such as rosacea.

Rosacea is an acne-like condition that occurs in adults. People with
rosacea experience frequent flushing (blushing) of facial skin.
During flushing, facial blood vessels dilate, producing visible red-
ness. Many vessels eventually become permanently dilated (telang-
iectases). Telangiectases also frequently occur as a consequence of
excessive sun exposure.
Because they are small, facial telangiectases may respond to treat-
ment with the pulsed dye laser. This laser is more likely to work on
small-diameter vessels and capillaries and usually produces purpura,
What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser? / 45
which may persist as long as two weeks after treatment. Krypton,
argon, and 532 nm diode lasers are useful for treating telangiectases
and have the advantage of not producing purpura. For this reason,
most patients prefer these over the pulsed dye laser. None
of these lasers require anesthesia in the great majority of patients.
The final result of a treatment may not be apparent for several
weeks.
After treatment with the krypton or argon laser the blood
within many of the telangiectases will undergo coagulation, so
blood flow within the vessels stops. Once the blood within a vessel
coagulates, the body disposes of the vessel’s remains and the vessel
is obliterated.
Removing Brown Pigmented Lesions
Several types of lasers are effective for treating lentigenes because
melanin absorbs light of many wavelengths. Anesthesia is generally
not required. The lesions may turn a gray or whitish color immedi-
ately upon treatment. There may be an additional purple discol-
oration (purpura) upon treatment with the Q-switched Nd:YAG
laser. This purpura is caused by a shock wave effect on nearby blood
vessels similar to that produced by the pulsed dye laser. Other lasers

used for treating lentigenes are Q-switched ruby and alexandrite
lasers, and continuous-wave krypton and diode lasers.
Other flat pigmented lesions, including freckles and cafe-au-lait
spots, are treated the same way as lentigenes. All are likely to fade
completely with one or two treatments. Darker lesions tend to
respond better than lighter ones because they absorb more laser
energy. Very light pigmented lesions absorb less laser energy, possi-
bly not enough to cause significant damage to the pigment cells.
For unknown reasons, cafe-au-lait spots are quite likely to recur
within a few months and may require repeated treatments.
Melanocytic nevi (moles) are commonly considered for cosmetic
removal. Because melanocytic nevus cells have the potential to
become malignant, they must be dealt with cautiously. For many
46 / What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser?
years the standard approach to removing nevi has been surgical
excision. One advantage of surgical removal is that the tissue can be
processed and examined microscopically by a pathologist. Pathologic
analysis confirms whether the cells are benign or malignant. Indeed,
a biopsy should be obtained from any mole that is suggestive of
being abnormal, to enable pathologic assessment. Moles that appear
normal but that are cosmetically objectionable to the patient may be
considered for laser removal. A skilled dermatologist should make
the judgment as to whether it is safe to remove a nevus with a laser.
In many cases, laser treatments of nevi provide superior cosmetic
results compared to conventional surgical excision.
Small nevi judged to be benign can be removed by laser vapor-
ization (CO
2
or erbium:YAG laser). I often remove small nevi that
are within a facial area that I am resurfacing with one of these lasers.

I have also found the krypton laser to be effective for removing
small pigmented nevi. In these lesions the pigment preferentially
absorbs the green light output of the krypton laser, concentrating
the thermal damage in the nevus cells. All of these lasers may be
somewhat painful on treatment and may require an injected local
anesthetic. The treated lesion will usually heal with a scab over a
period of one or two weeks.
Treating larger nevi (greater than one-eighth inch in diameter)
with a destructive laser is more risky because there is a greater
chance of scarring. Depending on the body area, surgical excision,
which always creates a scar, may be cosmetically superior to laser
removal. One type of large nevus best treated with a laser is the
nevus of Ota (see chapter 2). This is a pigmented lesion composed
of nevus cells that lie deep in the dermis. These lesions are usually
several inches in diameter. The color varies in intensity (based on
the amount of pigment) and hue (based on the depth of pigment in
the dermis). Q-switched lasers have been found to be most effective
for treating nevi of Ota. Deeper pigment responds better to the
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, whereas more superficial pigment may
require the Q-switched ruby laser. These nonsurgical treatments
are generally done without anesthesia. Multiple treatments are
required.
What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser? / 47
Laser Treatment of Tattoos
Black is the most responsive tattoo ink and responds equally well
to all three Q-switched lasers. Black ink particles absorb all visible
wavelengths. Red ink requires treatment with the frequency-
doubled (532 nm) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. Green responds to
Q-switched ruby (694 nm) and alexandrite (755 nm) lasers and can
also be treated with the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser using a special

handpiece that alters the wavelength of the laser energy to 650 nm.
Dark blue ink may respond as black ink does. Yellow tattoo ink is
relatively resistant to all laser wavelengths but is generally inconspic-
uous if it remains after the other tattoo colors have cleared.
The great advantage of Q-switched lasers is that they are very
safe; the risk of adverse events such as scarring is extremely low.
Many tattoos can be completely eradicated with no visible effect on
the skin. The disadvantage is that most tattoos require multiple
treatments. In contrast, a surgical treatment (such as the CO
2
laser)
may provide drastic reduction in the tattoo after only one treatment
but will always cause a significant scar, which usually looks worse
than the tattoo.
Amateur-applied tattoos usually contain less ink and will there-
fore clear with fewer treatments, frequently four or fewer. Profes-
sional tattoos require six or more treatments and, if multicolored,
may need many more. There will be a differential clearance of ink
based on color. Black ink may be completely cleared while more
resistant inks remain quite prominent. In recent years novel colors
have been appearing in tattoos. These newer inks are typically
brighter than traditional tattoo ink and occur in a wider array of col-
ors. Such novel colors are less likely than conventional colors to
respond to Q-switched laser treatments. One should have low expec-
tations for laser treatment of bright, multicolored tattoos; however,
such tattoos may clear if given a greater number of treatments.
Dr. Rox Anderson, the co-discoverer of selective photothermolysis
(the principle that enables nonsurgical laser removal of tattoos), has
proposed restriction of tattoo inks to those that are known to be
responsive to Q-switched laser treatment. (The U.S. Food and Drug

48 / What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser?
Administration regulates tattoo inks as cosmetics and the pigments
used in them as color additives. The actual use of tattoo inks is not
regulated at the federal level but rather in local jurisdictions.)
Two additional factors seem to affect the responsiveness of tattoos
to Q-switched laser treatment: the age of the tattoo (time elapsed
since the tattoo was obtained) and the body location of the tattoo. In
general, older tattoos seem somewhat more responsive than newer
tattoos. The reason for this difference may be that the body’s efforts
to clear the tattoo ink have actually begun to have an effect.
(Remember that the laser breaks up tattoo ink particles and that the
body’s macrophage cells remove the particle fragments; see chapter 4.)
As for body location, more distal locations on an extremity (such as
the hand or foot) appear to respond less rapidly than proximal
extremities (upper arm, thigh) or trunk locations. Also, lower body
locations are less responsive than upper body locations (one can sur-
mise that the worst body location would be the foot). The effect of
body location on a tattoo’s response to treatment may be related to
blood circulation, which is better in the more responsive locations.
Q-switched laser treatment of tattoos is moderately painful but
usually does not require anesthesia. These extremely short-pulsed
lasers produce a sensation similar to that of a rubber band snapping
against the skin. The sensation is sharp but very brief, and is painful
mainly during the actual treatment. Topical anesthetic creams such
as EMLA or Betacaine may be partially helpful but are limited in
effect because they numb only the more superficial layers of skin.
Unfortunately, it is the deeper layers (in the dermis) where the tat-
too ink particles are located. Subsequent laser treatments are pro-
gressively less painful because there is less and less ink in the tattoo.
In fact, where there is no tattoo ink in the skin, these lasers are

virtually painless. This is because tattooed skin contains much more
chromophore than does normal skin.
Initial treatment of a dark tattoo may produce an exuberant reac-
tion in which the absorbed laser energy produces a small shock
wave effect. This is commonly felt as a vibration in the skin and
may be enough to actually disrupt the epidermis above the tattoo,
producing pinpoint bleeding. This effect should not be confused
What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser? / 49
with that of a surgical treatment, however, because this type of
minor skin disruption will heal very quickly. The physician may
suggest that the patient apply topical antibiotic ointment, such as
bacitracin, to any minor scabs that may appear in the first few days
following treatment.
Laser Hair Removal
Hair removal lasers all target melanin. Unwanted hairs tend to be
relatively large and dark. There is a much higher concentration of
melanin in the hair follicle than in the surrounding skin; this differ-
ence provides selectivity so that the laser’s effect is much greater on
the hair follicle than elsewhere. Human hair varies widely in diame-
ter and color as well as in growth characteristics; the response to laser
hair removal treatment is affected by all of these physical features.
Because of the broad range of wavelengths that affect melanin
(see chapter 4), several different lasers are effective for hair removal:
ruby (694 nm), alexandrite (755 nm), diode (810 nm), and
Nd:YAG (1064 nm) lasers. These lasers have variable power set-
tings, spot sizes and pulse durations, all of which can affect the effi-
cacy of treatment. The hair follicle is a relatively large structure, and
significant amounts of energy are required to damage it; a relatively
long laser pulse is required to deliver the needed energy. To avoid
excessive heating of the epidermis, a cooling agent is generally used.

Examples of cooling techniques include application of an ice-cold
gel, a block of frozen blue ice, or a refrigerant spray. Laser treatment
follows this cooling step. These coolants chill the epidermis more
than the dermis, so that the laser treatment primarily affects the
dermis, the location of the hair follicle.
Most modern hair removal lasers employ a large spot size (half an
inch or more in diameter); this entire circular area is treated with one
laser pulse. Ideally the tissue damage is confined to the hair follicles
and the rest of the skin is unharmed. Because the laser pulses may be
produced at the rate of one or more per second, an entire upper lip
area may be treated in less than 30 seconds. The laser affects all
growing hair follicles in the treated area. Pain is relatively mild and is
50 / What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser?
actually lessened by chilling of the skin (cold has an anesthetic
effect). Generally no anesthetics are required. The relative speed of
laser hair removal enables treatment of large body areas such as legs,
arms and trunk. These areas are often several hundred times greater
than that of the upper lip and may require 30 to 60 minutes to treat.
Such long treatments consequently involve more pain.
Electrolysis is the only other truly destructive method of hair
removal and should be compared to laser hair removal. Both meth-
ods can result in permanent effects. In electrolysis, a tiny electrode is
placed down each individual hair follicle. There is significant pain
with each electrical impulse. These treatments are slow and tedious;
an upper lip may require an hour or more for complete treatment.
(In practice, few people can tolerate more than 30 minutes of
treatment in a single session.) The success of electrolysis is highly
dependent on the skill of the technician and varies widely. In addi-
tion, there is a risk of scarring with over-treatment. In contrast, laser
hair removal is extremely fast and relatively painless. Laser treatments

are largely standardized and success is somewhat independent of the
skills of the operator. In patients with lighter skin, over-treatment
that results in scarring is uncommon. Caution must be exercised
when treating patients with darker skin types. This is because with
greater amounts of melanin in the epidermis there is a higher risk of
unwanted heating of the epidermis. Extensive epidermal heating
may result in temporary or permanent changes in pigmentation
(either hyper- or hypo-pigmentation) or even a scar (a permanent
change in texture).
As we have seen, nonsurgical laser treatments precisely remove
unwanted skin elements by targeting specific skin chromophores.
Ideally these treatments affect only the unwanted elements, cause no
damage to the rest of the skin and therefore require little if any visi-
ble healing, and result in no scarring or changes in skin texture. In
contrast, surgical laser treatments target a universal chromophore
(water) that is present throughout the skin, and are intended to
vaporize (remove) entire layers of skin or to excise (cut through) skin
and other soft tissues. As I shall discuss in the next chapter, the spe-
cial properties of lasers can be used to great advantage by cosmetic
surgeons.
What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Nonsurgical Laser? / 51
6. What Is It Like to Be
Treated with a Surgical Laser?
Surgical treatment alters the structure of the skin, usually
through removal of tissue, and thus requires a period of healing.
Most surgical laser treatments are similar to conventional non-laser
surgeries except that, instead of a mechanical abrading device or
scalpel, a laser is used to remove or cut through tissue. Surgical lasers
have special advantages in cosmetic surgery, such as sealing blood
vessels and causing skin contraction, that are lacking in conventional

surgical treatments. As with any cosmetic surgery, the quality of the
result is highly dependent on the skill of the surgeon.
Laser Resurfacing
Resurfacing of facial skin is the most common surgical laser
treatment. These treatments are effective because they remove
whole layers of sun-damaged skin; with healing, completely new
skin actually replaces what was removed. Unwanted textural fea-
tures such as wrinkles are smoothed out and, because the epidermis
is entirely removed with resurfacing, age spots and splotchy pig-
mentation are also removed.
There are two types of resurfacing lasers in common use:
erbium:YAG and CO
2
. The energy output of each of these lasers is
absorbed by water. Because water is everywhere in the skin, these
lasers do not have an effect on a specific cell type or skin component
but rather affect all skin components equally. These lasers are designed
to treat a broad area of skin with each pulse or pass, each of which
removes a uniform depth of tissue. Many models of resurfacing lasers
use robotic scanners that facilitate uniform and rapid treatment of
relatively large surface areas. Although the general principles of
What Is It Like to Be Treated with a Surgical Laser? / 53
resurfacing with erbium:YAG and CO
2
lasers are similar, there are
significant differences between them. Each laser has advantages and
disadvantages.
The erbium:YAG laser has an extremely high affinity for water;
almost all of this laser’s energy is absorbed by water, resulting in
immediate and complete vaporization of thin layers of skin. The

fraction of laser energy not absorbed by water produces a small
amount of residual heat in adjacent (lower) layers of skin. In con-
trast, the CO
2
laser has a lower affinity for water: in addition to
vaporizing skin cells, this laser leaves a zone of heated skin below
the vaporized skin layers. This residual heat is generally below the
threshold to cause damage (that is, the skin does not suffer a burn
injury), but it is enough to significantly affect the skin during and
after healing. This residual heating effect accounts for all of the dif-
ferences between CO
2
and erbium:YAG laser treatments. These
differences include the amount of pain experienced during treat-
ment, the possibility of bleeding during or after treatment, how
much the skin contracts with treatment (immediate and delayed),
how long it takes to heal, how much redness occurs after treatment,
and the risk of alterations of skin pigmentation.
Laser Resurfacing with the
Erbium:YAG Laser
Because erbium:YAG laser energy is almost completely con-
sumed by vaporization of skin cells, resurfacing with this laser is
substantially less painful than with the CO
2
laser. Although
erbium:YAG resurfacing is not painless, the majority of facial areas
can be treated using only topically applied anesthetic. Several effec-
tive anesthetic creams are available. Most provide better anesthesia if
applied for longer periods prior to erbium:YAG laser resurfacing.
One topical anesthetic, EMLA cream, usually requires two or more

hours of application for maximal effectiveness. EMLA also works
better if the cream is covered with a plastic film. If EMLA is used,
patients are instructed to apply the cream before arriving at the